Coalition passes 1st judicial overhaul law, limiting review of government decisions

After 29 weeks of protests and mass public opposition that have roiled the country and divided its citizens, the Knesset gave its final approval Monday to a law that prevents the courts from reviewing the “reasonableness” of government and ministerial decisions, the first major bill of the government’s judicial overhaul to pass into law.

The bill passed its third and final reading with 64 votes in favor and 0 against, as the entire 56-member opposition boycotted the vote in protest.

The vote concluded 30 hours of continuous plenum debate, which began on Sunday morning. During that period, hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets, both for and against curbing judicial checks on political power, and US President Joe Biden sent his fifth message in a little over a week calling on the government to not rush constitutional changes. READ MORE